Site summary
The Astoria Marine Construction Company, or AMCCO, site was contaminated with hazardous chemicals from historical ship manufacturing and repair operations. Contamination affected soil on the property and in nearby riverbed sediment of the Lewis and Clark River near the mouth of the Columbia River.
Background
In March 2011, the United States Environmental Protection Agency proposed to place the AMCCO property on the National Priorities List of sites warranting priority cleanup under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act – also known as Superfund. The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners requested EPA delay the listing. The request was subsequently granted, and oversight of cleanup activities was transferred to DEQ. As part of the Deferral Agreement with EPA, DEQ consulted with EPA, several federally recognized Tribes, several state agencies and other Federal Natural Resource Trustees on the decision making for the project.
Cleanup actions
AMCCO completed a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study in 2015. In coordination with AMCCO, tribal governments and a community advisory group, DEQ selected a remedy in 2017 to clean up contamination on the site and in the adjacent riverbed. AMCCO completed the cleanup under terms of a consent judgment with DEQ. AMCCO completed all major remedy construction activities during the spring and summer of 2020. These included preparation activities such as demolition of select onsite buildings and structures followed by excavation of contaminated sediments in marine ways and upland soil hot spot removal for offsite landfill disposal. In the summer of 2021, AMCCO restored the levee and constructed a stormwater management system. AMCCO completed upland capping to isolate remaining contamination in summer 2022. Completion of the remedial action is documented in a Construction Completion Report.
AMCCO's future requirements for inspection and maintenance of the upland cap, and implementation of a contaminated media management plan during any ground disturbing activities, are memorialized in an Easement and Equitable Servitudes recorded on the property deed. DEQ will perform long-term monitoring and maintenance of the sediment cap per a Performance Monitoring Review and Contingency Plan using DEQ Orphan Program funds.
DEQ reviewed the requirements of the consent judgment and the corresponding actions and determined that all obligations of the judgment have been satisfactorily performed, and that a Certification of Completion should be issued. DEQ further concluded that because all environmental concerns have been addressed, issuance of a Conditional No Further Action determination was warranted. Following a 30-day public comment period, DEQ issued the Certification of Completion on March 25, 2024, and the Conditional No Further Action Determination on April 17, 2024.
The Remedial investigation and Feasibility Study, Certification of Completion, Conditional No Further Action determination, Construction Completion Report and PMRC Plan can be found on DEQ's Your DEQ Online database file for the AMCCO project.
Cleanup status and next steps
DEQ will continue monitoring and maintenance of the sediment remedy, while AMCCO will continue with inspection and maintenance of the upland cap. In 2029 DEQ will complete a 5-year review to evaluate the remedy performance and identify future monitoring and maintenance requirements. In July 2025, DEQ initiated discussions with EPA regarding closeout of the Deferral Agreement. A decision on the Deferral Agreement is expected by early 2026.